Matthew Pereda

A Brief History of Apologies

-after Harryette Mullen

We were covered in corn silk and petroleum
We were splitting like matter
We were stinking of ores and wintergreen
All you wanted was a dictionary of random answers
All I wanted was a matching set of blowjobs
Orpheus’ wife was sleeping with her tongue on the light bulb again
She was trying to waste time
Someone was predicting something wet so we tried to make umbrellas
Your teeth were heavy with forgiveness
You were certain that things weren’t revolving
You would roll and keep rolling
There was salt on the washing machine for when our collars turned pink
You were worried about mind control
For example: Did you notice the poems are alphabetized and
Did you know I don’t dream at night and
Are you sure this map isn’t lying

Mathew Pereda studies English and Creative Writing at the University of Alabama. He recently started experimenting with film photography. He worries about the negative side-effects of artificial lighting.